DAN Sullivan’s spectacular strike sealed Hereford’s sixth straight win at struggling Frome Town.

But it was a victory that had looked unlikely just a few seconds beforehand.

With five minutes remaining, the scores had been deadlocked at 1-1 and, with a host of chances going begging despite Hereford’s dominance, a draw had seemed the most likely result.

But then Serge Mor Diop stroked home his eight goal in five games.

And, within 60 seconds, Sullivan, a first-half substitute for Bilal Yafai, strode forward before launching a perfect 25-yard drive into the top corner of the net.

“The lads are all saying that it was a shank,” jokes Sullivan. “But it’s the sort of shot that is only going to go in maybe once in 10 attempts.

“I was very happy with it and it’s a good result for us, too.

“When it came to the last 20 minutes and it was still 1-1, we’d had a lot of chances to score and so a lot of us were thinking that maybe it was not going to be our day.

“But, in the end, 3-1 was certainly a fair result.”

Hereford’s opening, however, had done little to inspire confidence among their band of followers.

The ball was lost in midfield and sent forward quickly towards the Hereford area.

Goalkeeper Luke Williams came charging out of his goal and missed the ball, allowing Lewis Haldane the chance to curl home from 20 yards.

Hereford certainly did not have matters all their own way in the exchanges which followed but drew level on 20 minutes.

On-loan defender Joshua Yorwerth marked his debut by striding forward before drilling a low drive into the bottom corner of the net.

The Cardiff man could well have doubled his debut tally before the break when he headed a Josh Hawker free-kick into the side-netting.

Hereford were not helped by losing Yafai (knee Injury) and Javia Roberts (hamstring) in the first half.

“It was very disruptive to lose two players to injury in the first half,” said Sullivan. “The pitch was not great – it was very heavy so there were going to be injuries, but losing two key players was always going to unsettle the team.

“But we battled through and dealt with that very well.

United still continued to create good chances despite the loss of the duo with the usually reliable Diop shooting wide in a one-on-one and Sullivan’s header going off target when it seemed easier to score just 18 seconds into the second period.

Eventually, however, the pressure paid off and Diop’s remarkable run of form continued when he picked his spot perfectly to score with a low drive just inside the far post.

“It was about time that we made it 2-1, we had had enough chances but we just could not seem to score,” said Sullivan.

“Going one down so early made it a bit difficult for us but we could have scored five or six.

“Mo has scored eight in five games now. But when it comes to the last 20 minutes, as the only full-time team in the league, we ought to be getting on top of teams, fitness-wise.”

Seconds later, Sullivan had his moment of glory with his superb strike.

“It was a spectacular strike,” said Hereford manager Jon Taylor. “You won’t see a better goal all season.”

The result left Sullivan feeling that United could continue their fine run of form.

“At the moment, we’re having such a great run that I feel we could go on and beat any team at the moment,” he said

“I’m sure we can continue climbing the league, go further in the Trophy and get to the play-offs.”

MATCH FACTS

Hereford: Williams, Yorwerth, Cutajar, Hawker, Gascoigne, Gordon, Vetier, Bobes-Gilroy (Williams 73), Diop, Yafai (Sullivan 12), Roberts (Ciani 45). Subs not used: O’Neill, Onyeike.

Frome Town: Chitty, Hutchings, Cooper, Baggridge, Vallis, Mundy, Hulbert, Smith, Haldane (Simpson), Taylor (Thomson 68), Rodriguez (Bonella 68).

Referee: Anthony Foster (Dorset).

Attendance: 265.

Goals: Haldane, 1 min, 0-1; Yorwerth, 20 min, 1-1; Diop, 85 min, 1-2; Sullivan, 85 min, 1-3.

Yellow cards: Yorwerth, 26 min, foul; Gascoigne, foul, 38 min; Sullivan, 89 min, foul.